2004News

Dominicans in the Olympics

Felix ?Super? Sanchez returned to the track today to show his determination to win the DR?s first Olympic gold. The 26-year-old athlete earned himself a time of 47:93 in the 400-meter hurdle semifinals today, easily beating his fellow competitors. During yesterday?s preliminary heats, Sanchez scored a time of 48:51, which was bested by Jamaican Danny McFarlane. Today?s race put Sanchez in first place, however, with McFarlane scoring a lesser time of 48:00. The three top contenders for gold in this event are Sanchez, McFarlane and James Carter of the US. The 400-meter hurdle finals are due to take place on Thursday.

Other Dominican track-and-field athletes still in competition include high-jumper Juana Arrendell, who arrived from Belarus where she had been undergoing intensive training with her coach Natalia Korotoeva. Last year?s Pan American champion, at 1.94 meters, will face stiff competition from fellow high-jumpers from Russia, Croatia, Mexico, Spain and Argentina. In other track and field news, the 4 x 400 relay team is still awaiting a decision from the Technical Committee as to whether their request to compete in these games will be accepted. The team is composed of Johelin Santa, Antonio Sid?, Arismendy Peguero and F?lix S?nchez.

In other sports, Hansel Ram?rez takes to the mat today in the preliminaries of the Greco-Roman wrestling competition. He faces incredible competition in his draw at the 55-kilo level, having to face Japan?s Masatoshi Toyota and Hungarian Majoros Istvan.

Dominican Tae Kwan Do star Gabriel Mercedes will do battle in the 58-kilo class on Saturday, where he hopes to better his silver medal-winning performance of the Santo Domingo Pan Am Games last year.